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Mia-Marie Hammarlin

Mia-Marie Hammarlin

Universitetslektor

Mia-Marie Hammarlin

Fearing mRNA : A Mixed Methods Study of Vaccine Rumours

Författare

  • Mia-Marie Hammarlin
  • Fredrik Miegel
  • Kokkinakis Dimitrios
  • Jullietta Stoencheva

Summary, in English

The first mass-distributed vaccines based on mRNA technology were launched in 2021 to protect against COVID-19, sparking rumours among vaccine critical individuals that these “new” vaccines might be more dangerous to the health than other, “traditional” vaccines. Drawing on rumour theories and social cognitive perspectives, the aim of this chapter is to account for the purpose and the spreading of medical rumours that encircle mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. We ask: How are rumours concerning mRNA expressed and established? In terms of trust and distrust, what function do the rumours have? We take as our empirical case the fast spreading of a medical journal article written by a group of infectious medicine researchers at Lund University, Sweden, that spawned an already established vaccine rumour, and analyse Swedish-language tweets discussing mRNA vaccines posted between February 10, 2022 and November 10, 2022. Our study follows a mixed methods sequential explanatory design consisting of an initial computational distant reading analysis based on structural topic modeling, followed by a close qualitative reading and thematic analysis of the results. Our analysis shows how mRNA rumours are not primarily based on ignorance, but rather on distrust regarding the officially sanctioned, positive narrative of new vaccine technologies, expressed through what we term counter-scientific argumentation.

Avdelning/ar

  • Journalistik
  • Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap
  • Institutionen för kommunikation och medier
  • Birgit Rausing Centrum för Medicinsk Humaniora (BRCMH)
  • LU profilområde: Proaktivt åldrande

Publiceringsår

2024-03-01

Språk

Engelska

Dokumenttyp

Konferensbidrag

Ämne

  • Media Studies

Nyckelord

  • vaccine
  • COVID-19
  • mRNA
  • rumour
  • mixed methods

Conference name

Nordmedia

Conference date

2023-08-16 - 2023-08-18

Conference place

Bergen, Norway

Status

Inpress

Projekt

  • Rumour Mining: Vaccination engagement on the internet